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News Release Information

19-373-SAN
Wednesday, March 06, 2019

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Fatal Work Injuries in Washington – 2017

Fatal work injuries totaled 84 in 2017 for Washington, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Washington was higher than the 78 fatalities in the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 128 in 1996 to a low of 56 in 2013. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a total of 5,147 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2017, down slightly from the 5,190 fatal injuries in 2016, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In Washington, transportation incidents resulted in 30 fatal work injuries and falls, slips, and trips accounted for 26 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 67 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) The number of worker deaths from transportation incidents increased by three over the year, while fatalities from falls, slips, and trips were little changed.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2017, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, or trips was the second-most common fatal event (17 percent), followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals (16 percent).

Industry

The private construction industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in Washington with 15, similar to the count in the previous year. (See table 2.) Falls, slips, and trips were the most frequent fatal event in the sector with 10 worker deaths. Ten of those fatally injured in this sector worked as specialty trade contractors.

The private agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting sector had 14 workplace fatalities in 2017. Crop production accounted for almost half of the fatalities in this industry.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 30. (See table 3.) Fifteen of these fatalities were heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers.

Additional highlights:
  • Men accounted for 95 percent of the work-related fatalities in Washington, compared to the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 36 percent of the fatalities for men in Washington.
  • White non-Hispanics accounted for 74 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 67 percent of work-related deaths.
  • Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 48 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2017, compared to 55 percent nationwide.
  • Of the 84 fatally-injured workers in Washington, 80 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents.

Technical Note

Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the BLS Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The CFOI program uses diverse state, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. This ensures counts are as complete and accurate as possible. For the 2017 national data, over 23,400 unique source documents were reviewed as part of the data collection process. For technical information and definitions for CFOI, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/home.htm.

Federal/State agency coverage. The CFOI includes data for all fatal work injuries, even those that may be outside the scope of other agencies or regulatory coverage. Thus, any comparison between the BLS fatality census counts and those released by other agencies should take into account the different coverage requirements and definitions being used by each agency. More on the scope of CFOI can be found at www.bls.gov/iif/cfoiscope.htm

Acknowledgments. BLS appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector entities that provided source documents used to identify fatal work injuries. Among these agencies are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the National Transportation Safety Board; the U.S. Coast Guard; the Mine Safety and Health Administration; the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (Federal Employees' Compensation and Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation divisions); the Federal Railroad Administration; the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; state vital statistics registrars, coroners, and medical examiners; state departments of health, labor, and industrial relations and workers' compensation agencies; state and local police departments; and state farm bureaus.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200. Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Washington, 2016–17
Event or exposure (1)20162017
NumberNumberPercent

Total

7884100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

131315

Intentional injury by person

131315

Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)

967

Shooting by other person--intentional

745

Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)

478

Transportation incidents

273036

Aircraft incidents

--11

Other in-flight crash

--11

Other in-flight crash into structure, object, or ground

--11

Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle

151821

Roadway collision with other vehicle

--911

Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming

--67

Roadway collision with object other than vehicle

845

Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway

745

Roadway noncollision incident

556

Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway

556

Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles

434

Falls, slips, trips

242631

Falls to lower level

222024

Other fall to lower level

161417

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

334

Contact with objects and equipment

81012

Struck by object or equipment

7911

Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport

--45

Footnotes:
(1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward.

NOTE: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, Washington, 2016–17
Industry (1)20162017
NumberNumberPercent

Total

7884100

Private industry

738095

Natural resources and mining

161417

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

151417

Construction

141518

Construction

141518

Specialty trade contractors

71012

Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors

356

Manufacturing

478

Manufacturing

478

Trade, transportation, and utilities

162631

Retail trade

61012

Transportation and warehousing

101012

Truck transportation

878

Financial activities

645

Professional and business services

8810

Administrative and waste services

8810

Administrative and support services

867

Services to buildings and dwellings

567

Landscaping services

545

Leisure and hospitality

--11

Other services, except public administration

311

Other services, except public administration

311

Repair and maintenance

--11

Government (2)

545

Federal government

--11

Footnotes:
(1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2012.
(2) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry.

NOTE: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, Washington, 2016–17
Occupation (1)20162017
NumberNumberPercent

Total

7884100

Management occupations

422

Other management occupations

322

Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

--11

Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

--11

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

556

Grounds maintenance workers

434

Grounds maintenance workers

434

Landscaping and groundskeeping workers

311

Sales and related occupations

678

Supervisors of sales workers

134

First-line supervisors of sales workers

134

Construction and extraction occupations

141417

Construction trades workers

91315

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

7810

Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers

------

Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

645

Production occupations

--45

Transportation and material moving occupations

183036

Air transportation workers

--11

Aircraft pilots and flight engineers

--11

Commercial pilots

--11

Motor vehicle operators

131821

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

131821

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

111518

Material moving workers

378

Footnotes:
(1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010.

NOTE: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by selected demographic characteristics, Washington, 2016–17
Worker characteristics20162017
NumberNumberPercent

Total

7884100

Employee status

Wage and salary workers (1)

596780

Self-employed (2)

191720

Gender

Men

708095

Women

845

Age (3)

20 to 24 years

534

25 to 34 years

91417

35 to 44 years

131113

45 to 54 years

191518

55 to 64 years

182429

65 years and over

131619

Race or ethnic origin (4)

White (non-Hispanic)

606274

Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)

--45

Hispanic or Latino

13911

Asian (non-Hispanic)

--11

Footnotes:
(1) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation.
(2) Includes self-employed workers, owners of unincorporated businesses and farms, paid and unpaid family workers, and may include some owners of incorporated businesses or members of partnerships.
(3) Information may not be available for all age groups.
(4) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exclude Hispanic and Latino workers.

NOTE: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, March 06, 2019